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Indiana Issues Air Quality Alert For Friday, Saturday Due To Wildfire Smoke

Justin Hicks/IPB News

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has issued an Air Quality Action Day alert for July 23 and 24 covering St. Joseph, Elkhart, LaPorte, Lake and Porter counties. The agency is forecasting high levels of fine particle pollution, or PM 2.5, in the air due to smoke from wildfires in the western United States and southern Canada.

The massive fires this year have been made worse due to extreme heat and drought conditions exacerbated by climate change.

In a news release, the agency said children, the elderly, and anyone with heart or lung conditions should reduce or avoid exertion and heavy work outdoors and that PM 2.5 pollution is composed of microscopic dust, soot, and liquid that settles deep into the lungs and cannot be easily exhaled.

To reduce exposure, the agency recommends reducing activity time outdoors and avoiding exercise near busy roads.

Contact Jakob at jlazzaro@wvpe.org or follow him on Twitter at @JakobLazzaro.

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Jakob Lazzaro came to Indiana from Chicago, where he graduated from Northwestern University in 2020 with a degree in Journalism and a double major in History. Before joining WVPE, he wrote NPR's Source of the Week e-mail newsletter, and previously worked for CalMatters, Pittsburgh's 90.5 WESA and North by Northwestern.